Replaceable punch assembly for fruit pitting machine



w. H. KAGLEY Erm. 2,821,224

Jan. 28, 1958 REPLACEABLE PUNCH ASSEMBLY FOR FRUIT PITTING MACHINE Filed001;. 17, 1955 mgm @um www United States atent REPLACEABLE PUNCHASSEMBLY FOR FRUIT PITTING MAC William Herbert Kagley, Lindsay, andBentley l. Milam, Strathmore, Calif., assignors to Lindsay Ripe @liveCompany, Lindsay, Calif., a corporation of California ApplicationOctober 17, 1955, Serial No. 540,710

1 Claim. (Cl. 1436-27) The present invention relates to a machine forpitting fruit, such as olives, and in particular to improvements overcertain features of the invention described and claimed in United Statespatent of Edward P. Drake, Fred I. Alberty, and William H. Kagley, No.2,341,857, granted February 15, 1944, for Fruit Fitting Machine.

In removing pits from olives by a machine of the type identified above,the olives are individually, rmly grasped in a predetermined, alignedposition while a punch enters from one end of the olive and is forcedlongitudinally therethrough. During this operation, the olive is forcedagainst a die by the punch. The olive pit is pushed out through the endof the olive by the punch into a bore in the die. Occasional repair andreplacement of punches is necessary and it is desirable that the punchmechanism be designed for speedy, convenient punch replacement.

It also is desirable that the punch removal mechanism or structure beeiicie-nt in design and not wasteful of lubricating oil during thepitting operation.

Accordingly, an important object of the invention is to provide in amachine of this general character, a punch assembly with removal andinstallation mechanism whereby punch replacement can be rapidly andconveniently accomplished.

Another object is to provide in such a machine a punch assembly withremoval and replacement structure that is eflcient and not wasteful oflubricating oil.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the further description inthe specification and the illustration in the drawing.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a detailed longitudinal section of a punch assembly andimmediately associated mechanism;

Figure 2 is a similar view showing a punch rod removal tool in position;

Figure 3 shows the punch rod after removal from the immediatelyassociated mechanism in position for removal of a punch pin; and

Figure 4 is a partial view for contrast similar to that of Figure lshowing a punch rod with a punch tip removal hole of a type shown in theabove mentioned patent and which is eliminated by the present invention.

The punch assemblies and dies (not shown) of the fruit pitting machineare mounted circumferentially in spaced relationship with respect toeach other on each of two drums 11 (part of one is shown). The punchassemblies and dies are arranged on the peripheral regions of the drums11 in alternating relationship. The drums, in turn, are rotatablymounted in axially spaced relationship with respect to each other sothat the punch assemblies on one drum are positioned axially oppositethe dies on the other drum, and the dies on the first-mentioned drum areaxially opposite the punch assemblies on the second-mentioned drum. Thisis accomplished by rigidly connecting the two axially spaced drums attheir inner ends so that they rotate together as a unit. A motor (notshown) and a gear train (not shown) ice connecting one of the drums 11to the motor, are used to furnish the power for rotating the drumstogether as a unit.

A cam barrel 12 is xedly mounted inside each of the drums concentricallytherewith. The cam barrels are provided with punch cam raceways 13 anddie cam raceways 14 to control the cyclic extension and retractionmovements of the punch assemblies 10 and dies (not shown) through punchcam followers 16 and die cam followers (not shown).

The olives are spaced and fed to olive gripping means (not shown) whichfirmly grasp individual olives and align each olive in a predeterminedposition between each pair of oppositely oriented punch assemblies anddies. As previously mentioned, the punch hereinafter described in moredetail enters the olive from one end and is forced longitudinallytherethrough. During this operation the olive is forced against the dieby the punch and the pit is pushed out through the end of the olive,while supported by the die, into a central bore originating at the faceof the die. The pit and the pitted olive are separately expelled fromthe fruit pitting machine and are collected in separate receptacles.

The body of a punch assembly 10 is a plunger or rod 17 which has asliding fit in cylindrical bearings 1t; and 19 formed in the flanges 21and 22, respectively, of a drum 11. The rod is of elongated, generallycylindrical shape, and can be inserted or withdrawn through a hole 23 inthe flange 24. The diameter of hole 23 is somewhat greater than theoutside diameter of the plunger to permit free sliding movement of theplunger axially through the hole. The rod 17 is, as illustrated, ofsubstantially uniform diameter throughout, and has a smooth andimperforate surface.

Secured to the rod 17 by a set screw 26 is a collar 27 having a guideshank 28 extending below to slide in a guide slot 29 in the drum 11.Secured in the shank is a stub shaft 31 upon which is carried a. rolleror cam follower 16 engaging the cam raceway 13 on the cam barrel 12partially shown. The cam barrel 12 is stationary and mountedconcentrically inside the rotatably mounted drum 11 which revolvescontinuously around the cam barrel.

The forward end of the rod 17 has a tapered bore or socket 32 into whichis driven the shank 33 of a tip or punch 34. The rearward end of the rodis provided with a tapped hole or threaded axial bore 36 into which thethreaded end 37 of a T tool 38 can be screwed, as shown in Figures 2 and3.

When it is desired to remove the tip or punch 34 from the rod 17, thethreaded end 37 of the T tool 3S is threadedly engaged in the tappedhole 36. The set screw 26 is unscrewed and the rod is withdrawn from thebearings 18 and 19 through hole 23. The rod may then be clamped tightlyin a vise indicated in phantom at 39. The punch 34 is extracted from theend of the rod by pliers or any suitable means. A new punch is insertedin the bore or socket 32 and the rod is ready to be reinserted throughhole 23 in bearings 18 and 19.

This is accomplished by again screwing the threaded end 37 of the T tool3S into the tapped hole 36. The rod is inserted in bearings 18 and 1 bysliding it therein through hole 23 in flange 24. The longitudinalposition of the rod is properly set and set screw 26 is tightenedagainst the rod in a notch 41. The T tool 3S is then unscrewed from theend of the rod to complete the operation.

During rotation of drums 11, that portion thereof extending beyonddividing line 42, dips into a bath of lubricating oil maintained belowthe drum. Oil is picked up by the drum and spread to punch assemblies10,

bearings 18 and 19, guide shank 2S and slot 29, punch cam followers 16and punch cam rac'eways 13, and corresponding rnoving parts of the dieassemblies. The lubricating oil reduces the friction and the wear ofthese rapidly and continuously moving parts.

To the other side S of dividing line 42V streams of water are dischargedfrom the olive feeding chutes (not shown). The water Washes past theinner ends of the drums I1 into receptacles for olive pits.

In the plunger or rod 43 employed in the invention of the patentreferred to above, as shown in our Figure 4, a punch removal hole 44 isprovided just behind the shank 46 of tip or punch 47 for driving out thetip or punch when it is desired to remove it from the bore 48 of theplunger. This hole picked up lubricating oil from the oil bath when thepunch assembly was in the retracted position shown in solid lines. Uponmoving into the advanced inside position for the pitting operation, asshown in phantom, the hole 44 moved past bearing 19 into the inner sideof dividing line 42, and lubricating oil was washed therefrom, asindicated by the arrow, by Water washing past the region where thepitting operation takes place. A large amount of oilk was lost in thismanner through the holes 44 in the multiplicity of punches used on themachine in continuous, cyclic pitting operations. The holes 44 werenecessary for removal of the punch tips it the plungers remained on thedrums of the machine, and removal of the plungers was tedious and slow.

The punch assembly and removal mechanism of the present inventioneliminates the hote through the plunger or rod 17 and saves practicallyall of the oil that previously was lost due to the presence of thishole. Because of this saving, and the speed and convenience with whichthe punch assembly now can be removed and replaced, maintenance andrepair costs, and machine down-time have been considerably reduced witha resulting corresponding increase in efliciency and production atreduced cost.

Furthermore, when removing punch assemblies from the bearings in themachine of the patent referred to above, it was diicult and inconvenientVto grasp the 4 plunger or rod with a su'icient degree of tightness byhand, or with a tool such asA tongs or pliers, tolongrtudinally slidethe plunger out of the bearings through the hole 23. The Walls of theplunger were covered with lubricating oil and were too slippery to get atight hand hold or tool hold thereon. In the use of the tapped hole 36and the T tool 3d of the present invention, these difculties areeliminated. A tight, positive hold is conveniently obtained on the outerend of rod 17 by screwing the threaded end 37 of the T tool into thetapped hote 36. The rod is neatly and conveniently slipped from beatings18 and 19 through hole 23 by simply pulling outward on the T toolaxially of the rod to slide it through the lubricated bearings 18 and19.

Although the present invention is in the nature of an improvement incertain described parts, it is not limited to the specic detailsillustrated and described, but is intended to include equivalentstructures and arrangements embraced within the definitions of theclaim.

What we claim as our invention is:

In a fruit pitting machine having' axially aligned'spaced bearings, arod axially slidably mounted in saidA bearings, said rod being ofsubstantially uniform diameter throughout and having a smooth andimperforate cylindrical surface, said rod being provided with a socketin one end thereof, a punch frictionally heid in said socket, the saidend of said rod being slidable through said bearings, rcciprocatorymeans between said bearings releasably connected to -said rod forreciprocating' theV same, the other end of said rod being provided witha threaded axial bore for the reception of a tool whereby'to facilitateremoval and replacement of said rod axially from said bearings.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS686,875 Wolff Nov. 19, 1.901 1,649,437 Anderson Nov. 15, 1927 2,114,425Kagley Apr; 19, 1938 2,341,857 Drake et al. Feb; 15, 1,944 2,506,802Magnuson et al. May 9, 1950

